Toy.



PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

M. E. TYNES.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED JUN 13, 1901.

wily/17 w I, l V/YWESSES: [/Vl E/VTOR.

B. A y /1 I I '1 ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT onnrcn.

MINOR EUGENE TYNES, OF GLOSTEB, MISSISSIPPI.

TOY.

Application filed June 13, 1907.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l\/IINOR E. TYNES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gloster, in the county of Amite and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and useful Toy, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toys and its object is to provide a simple, durable, and inexpensive device which will be both entertaming and amusing and which can be easily manipulated.

Another object is to provide a toy in which gravity is utilized for setting in motion a plurality of objects, there being means provided whereby the speed of movement can gradu ally increase or diminish.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective view of the toy, the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, 1 designates a support preferably in the form of a wire bent to form a spiral, the pitch of the wire being preferably diminished'toward one end so that a greater number of convolutions are produced within a given distance along one portion of the wire than within the same distance along another portion of the wire. Each end port-ion of the wire is bent to form preferably three loops 2 extending radially from the longitudinal axis of the spiral and each group of these loops constitutes a base which, when placed in contact with a flat horizontal surface, serves to support the spiral in anup right position.

Pivotally mounted upon the spiral is a revoluble member such as a sweep 3 preferably formed of wire and bowed downwardly at its center, there being a downwardly extending eye 4 at the center of the bow which loosely surrounds the wire of which the coil is formed and is designed to slide therealong. Arranged upon each end portion of this sweep are one or more figures 5 which, as shown in the drawing, may represent horses, or, if preferred, figures of any other design may be placed thereon. Each figure is loosely mounted on the wire and is held against longitudinal movement thereon by means of adjacent opposite sides of each figure. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Serial No. 378,807.

parts are all so positioned that the sweep will balance perfectly upon the coiled wire and will extend approximately at right angles thereto.

In using the toy the same is placed in an upright position after the sweep has been placed at one end of the coil and upon releasing the sweep the same will move downward bygravity and will travel along the coiled wire, said wire causing the sweep to rotate during its downward movement and the speed of rotation increases or diminishes according to the pitch of the spiral. When the sweep reaches the limit of its downward movement the entire toy can be inverted whereupon the objects upon the sweep will turn thereon and remain upright and said sweep will again move downward. It will of course be understood that the objects 5 arev pivotally mounted above their centers of gravity so that they will automatically assume upright positions.

By providing the sweep with the central downwardly bowed portion the same is prevented from striking the coils as the sweep moves downward and therefore a locking movement of the sweep will not be produced but the same will instead remain perfectly horizontal as it rotates. Importance is attached to the fact that the eye 4 extends downward from the center of this bow thus holding the sweep steady as it travels downward and further assisting in maintaining the sweep out of contact with the coils so as to eliminate the objectionable rocking motion hereinbefore referred to.

What is claimed is:

In a toy, the combination with a reversible coil; of a sweep balanced upon the coil and having a central upwardly bowed portion, those portions of the sweep at opposite sides of the bowed portion being disposed in aline ment, and an eye depending from the center of the bowed portion and loosely engaging the coil, the point of contact between the coil and eye constituting the sole bearing of the sweep, said coil being shaped to rotate the sweep in a horizontal position during its MINOR EUGENE TYNES.

Witnesses:

D. S. MODANIEL, J. E. BROWN. 

